"France warns Amazon over 'unacceptable' pressure on workers", 19 March 2020

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire accused Amazon on Thursday of placing "unacceptable" pressure on employees after unions claimed the retailer will not pay staff who refuse to go in to work fearing coronavirus contagion. "This coercion is unacceptable and we are going to make sure Amazon knows this," Le Maire told France Inter radio. 

About 200 of the 1,700 employees at Amazon's distribution centre near Douai in northern France refused to work on Tuesday, exercising the "right of refusal" in France's labour code if an employee considers there is a risk to health or safety... They added that management had indicated these workers would not be paid...

The French government announced strict confinement measures starting Tuesday... Unions say Amazon has failed to ensure that employees can remain one metre (3.3 feet) from one another as recommended by the authorities, and that face masks and sanitising hand gels are in short supply...

Amazon has disputed the claims, saying it has reinforced cleaning measures and taken steps "so that employees can keep the necessary distance from one another." "We are strictly following the government's recommendations and directives," it said in a statement...